If I Only Had the Nerve Lyrics – Wizard Of Oz, The

Song Overview

This London Palladium cut ties the Cowardly Lion’s comic confession to the road-march hook that powers Act I forward. It is classic Arlen-Harburg architecture - rebuilt for a 2011 West End sound - with David Ganly’s Lion front and center, plus Paul Keating’s Scarecrow, Edward Baker-Duly’s Tin Man, and Danielle Hope’s Dorothy slotting in like polished cogs in a bright parade machine. The track is part pep rally, part character sketch, and all momentum.

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Medley from the 2011 London revival, stitching the Lion’s solo to the traveling chorus.
2. Music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg; produced for the cast album by Nigel Wright with Andrew Lloyd Webber overseeing the revival.
3. Performed by David Ganly (Lion), Paul Keating (Scarecrow), Edward Baker-Duly (Tin Man), Danielle Hope (Dorothy).
4. Released May 9, 2011 on The Wizard of Oz (2011 London Palladium Recording).
5. Keeps the vaudeville snap of the 1939 film while adding modern studio blend and brisk pacing.

The groove is a strut - light on its feet, never heavy. Ganly chews the comic beats with round vowels and that cheeky Brooklynized diction on "nerve," while Keating and Baker-Duly volley neat interjections. Hope’s Dorothy acts like musical glue, cueing the gear-change into the road anthem. According to Classical Source’s opening-week notice, this casting anchored the production’s tone: friendly, nimble, and big-hearted.

Creation History

The 2011 staging by Jeremy Sams restored the film’s character-variation structure and framed it with new Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice material around the edges. This number, though, stays largely canonical: Arlen’s melody and Harburg’s patter, polished by Wright’s clean studio mix. The medley structure - solo into marching refrain - mirrors the original film design where each companion’s wish dovetails into forward motion. Playbill’s casting reports and early features tracked how Keating, Baker-Duly, and Ganly built the trio’s chemistry during previews - the blend you hear on the record is that stage rapport translated to disc.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Dorothy and friends meet the Cowardly Lion. He blusters, then admits the truth: courage is missing. The trio counters with quick asides - brain, heart, home - and the four set off together, belief outrunning fear as the traveling chorus kicks in.

Song Meaning

It is a comic self-audit that becomes a pact. The Lion names his lack, the others echo theirs, and the march reframes need as purpose. The mood is buoyant rather than solemn. Where some shows slow down for character, Oz speeds up - confession equals propulsion.

Annotations

“Yeh, it’s sad, believe me, Missy... If I only had the nerve”

Harburg wrote the Lion’s verse with a wink toward New York street speech. The 1939 template famously leans into Brooklynese - that stretched "noive" flavor - and the 2011 track keeps a playful trace of it. The accent is part character silhouette: bravado softened by humor.

Genre and style fusion

Operetta patter meets vaudeville soft-shoe phrasing, then switches to a pep-band refrain. The rhythm section nudges a quick-step feel, woodwinds chatter, and brass punctuates the joke lines. Emotional arc: fronted swagger - vulnerable admission - communal lift.

Touchpoints and subtext

The number sits in a long lineage of American musical comedy where fear is laughed into submission. Pop culture keeps borrowing the traveling hook anytime a crew heads toward a goal. And if you listen closely, the rhyme games - "dandelion" with "deny-in’" - show Harburg’s taste for slightly off-center zingers, the kind critics still cite when they talk about this score.

Key Facts

• Artist: David Ganly, Paul Keating, Edward Baker-Duly, Danielle Hope, Nigel Wright, Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Featured: London Palladium company voices
• Composer: Harold Arlen
• Lyricist: E. Y. Harburg
• Producer: Nigel Wright; Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Release Date: May 9, 2011
• Genre: Pop - Musicals
• Instruments: Orchestra, rhythm section, chorus
• Label: Polydor in the UK; U.S. issue via Decca Broadway
• Mood: Breezy, comic, determined
• Length: Typically 2 to 3 minutes in cast versions
• Track #: 11 on the album
• Language: English
• Album: The Wizard of Oz (2011 London Palladium Recording)
• Music style: Patter verse into marching chorus
• Poetic meter: Mixed accentual verse with internal rhyme and patter scansion

Canonical Entities & Relations

• Harold Arlen - composed the melody family used for the Brain/Heart/Nerve triptych.
• E. Y. Harburg - wrote the lyric variations and comic diction for each companion.
• Jeremy Sams - adapted and directed the 2011 stage production that features this medley structure.
• Andrew Lloyd Webber - produced the 2011 revival and its recording.
• Nigel Wright - produced and mixed the cast album track.
• Danielle Hope - originated Dorothy in the 2011 London revival.
• Paul Keating - performed the Scarecrow in the 2011 production.
• Edward Baker-Duly - performed the Tin Man in the 2011 production.
• David Ganly - performed the Cowardly Lion in the 2011 production.
• Polydor - UK label for the cast album release on May 9, 2011.

Questions and Answers

Why pair the Lion’s solo with the road chorus?

Because the show treats self-knowledge as fuel. Admit the lack, gain direction, start walking.

What gives the verse its comic snap?

Internal rhymes and colloquial twists - "deny-in’/dandelion" - plus short phrases that set up quick orchestral tags.

How does the 2011 cast color the diction?

Lightly - enough to nod at the film’s Brooklyn-tinged delivery without turning it into a cartoon.

Where does Danielle Hope steer the transition?

She cues the hand-off from patter to chorus, then rides the ensemble blend so the march lands tight.

Is the tempo faster than the 1939 film?

Usually a shade brisker on the cast album, which keeps scene energy up and spotlights the chorus cutoffs.

What is the musical function of the companions’ interjections?

They act like cadential pick-me-ups before the hook, confirming each character’s quest item.

Any performance tip for the Lion’s growl line?

Place the growl forward, not back in the throat, then snap the rhythm back into the words so pitch and joke survive.

Additional Info

As stated in Playbill’s 2010 casting announcement, Keating, Baker-Duly, and Ganly were locked in early, which helped the trio feel road-ready by opening. According to Wikipedia’s overview on the "If I Only Had a Brain" family, Harburg and Arlen built the three variations on the same musical chassis - a neat design trick that lets character color outshine technical change. And yes, critics noticed: the Guardian’s review singled out Ganly’s fearless spin on the Lion.

Sources: Wikipedia; Playbill; Classical Source; West End Whingers; Discogs; Ovrtur; Official YouTube audio; Spotify.